Collins

Collins had fun riding Dumbo yesterday while we were at the Spaghetti Warehouse.

Christmas...and beyond!

Carter took his football jerseys and helmet to Fort Worth so that he could play football with Todd over Christmas break.

 We snapped this picture of all the Rapp cousins. Colton, Emory, Collins, Elizabeth, Dalton, Connor, Hunter, Carter, Sarah and Holden.

 Princess Collins enjoying a bite of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

 Hunter got some freeze dried food in his stocking this year. Today he broke open the dehydrated ice cream sandwich and ate the whole thing. He said it was pretty good.

One of Connor's favorite Christmas gifts was Duck Dynasty DVDs. Today he came down the stairs dressed like this to watch a few episodes.

Glimpses of Christmas

Carter and Colton examining some of their new football cards.

What a tough guy Connor is in his new Duck Dynasty headband.

All the Rapp kids dressed up on Christmas Eve.

The whole family - with Holden examining the top of Carter's head.

What's inside this bag?

Yes! A new bowler hat for Connor.

Carter showed extreme excitement over every gift he opened.

Cute girl with her brother's hat and her dad's phone.

These two were happy to smile for pictures before the Christmas Eve service. Collins's dress was a gift from KK to Finley and then handed down to Collins. That makes it extra special.

The girls on Christmas morning. Looks like my cheeks had a little too much blush. Ha!

Hunter received lots of books for his birthday and Christmas - which is exactly what he wanted.

The excitement of a new Lego set.

I love this picture of Holden eating his brother's socks. He nabbed them while all the brothers were emptying their stockings.

Hello KK? Thanks for the new phone!

Colty wanted a Colts t-shirt for Christmas.

Collins at Christmas

Collins seemed to really enjoy all the Christmas fun this year. Here are a few pictures of her from our days in Fort Worth.

All dressed up for the Christmas Eve service at Christ Chapel.

Two of her favorite presents for sure: her new sunglasses and necklace. She has worn these a lot!

Collins sporting her new Frozen pajamas and hanging out with dad.

Gingerbread Houses

This was an unexpected surprise. Thanks to a special gift from some Houston friends, we had five gingerbread houses that the Rapp kids got to decorate tonight. The houses were already assembled and all the frosting and goodies were provided. In other words, just dreamy for the parents. Woo hoo!

All the kids hard at work. Houston Rapp boys + cousins Dalton and Emory.

 Collins was at the table, but she did much more eating than decorating.

 Dalton and Carter worked together on their house.

 I love the way this activity showcased their individuality in the way they decorated their gingerbread house.

 Sweet Colton was slow and careful as he put the candy on the house.

 Connor was a bit crazy with his decorations!

 Cousins are fun! These two used almost every kind of candy. Their gingerbread house was loaded.

 Hunter's decorations were well thought out and creative.

 Emory helped create a house for Collins. She was so kind.

 The finished products. I didn't get a picture before Dalton and Emory had to leave.

Engrams + In-N-Out Burger

We were headed to Fort Worth for Christmas and the Engrams were in Texas to pick up some new puppies so we met for lunch. Precious friends, best buddies, and always fun to be with are just a few of the ways that we would describe the Engram family. The puppies needed a chance to run around and use the bathroom, so we brought the Engrams to the Fort Worth Rapp house. It was short, but so great to see them!

Lunch at Mission Burrito

We stopped for lunch on Sunday and the kids had fun playing on this little playground at the restaurant. The boys took turns jumping off the play structure and Collins well, she was just being cute!

Connor's big jump.

Everyone strike a pose. It looks like Collins is trying to be sultry, but I really think she was just showing off her tights. It was maybe the first time she had ever worn tights and she was pretty enthralled with them. That morning she told us, "Tights are awesome!"

Carter flying through the air.

I think Colton is doing a pencil jump.

Sweet Collins in the mix with her brothers.

A mixture

This post is simply a bunch of pictures and one funny story that I want preserved. I'll start with a cute story about Colton. Last week at church Colton was playing with his new buddy Colt Hurley. This is what I overheard.

Colton R: You're my best friend in Houston.
Colt H: You mean Houston like the city? Or a person?
Colton R: The city.
Colt H: I am?
Colton R: Yep, you are my best friend in Houston....{pause}...Actually you are my only friend in Houston.

These pictures are from when Amy, Hayden and Lincoln Engram were in Houston. Every time that Amy would sit the babies beside each other, Holden would try to eat Lincoln. Every time!

Here it is again.

Good for Lincoln...giving Holden some of his own medicine. We just know these two boys will be best buddies like all the older Engram/ Rapp brothers.

Quality time as defined by Hayden and Hunter = reading near one another. They did a lot of this over the weekend.

A picture of the big twelve year old! This was first thing when Hunter woke up and he was opening a gift from my parents.

Hunter was excited to get the Lord of the Rings books.

Though it is hard to tell, both Collins and I had pigtails this day. Collins likes to decide how we fix her hair each day. She usually picks from ponytail, pigtails or half back.

Aha! This was Collins after she tried to use my mascara. She was not happy that I wanted to take her picture.

Hello handsome! Holden was looking very dapper for church this morning.